THEFADER.COM RECKONS:**Sweat.X, South Africa’s digitized descendants of Prince (early years), are dropping a new EP on Citinite, whose purveyor Manuel Sepulveda happens to be featured in FADER #63 for his futurefunk sleeve artwork for those guys and others (check the cover for this one after the jump). Like Jem says, synergy! “I’m That Alley,” a slinky electro synth track with a dollop of sexy falsetto from superman Spoek Mathambo, drops August 24 and foretells copius dancefloor slow-grinds—not quite “Erotic City” flagrant dry-humping but definitely on point for “Controversy”-style understated freakage. The B-Side, “The Knife,” is a twitchy, nasty, twerky rap track with Spoek dropping some of his infamously swaggy self-invented slang, which is to say you’d do well to cop that in anticipation of their next full-length, 187.**

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

SPENT THE WEEKEND IN GERMNAY AND SWITSERLAND...WHAT STARTED OUT AS AN AIRLINE DISASTER THAT SAW ME SCREAMING MY HEAD OFF...ENDED IN THE RAVEFEST FREAKSHOW MAMMOTH TECHNO EVENT THAT IS THE ZURICH STREET PARADE...WHICH I ENJOYED WITH THE LIKES OF MERCURY, ROUND TABLE KNIGHTS AND PONYBOMB.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

WHILE EVERYONE WORKS THEMSELVES INTO A STICKY WARM FROTH OVER BLAND MIDGET *HOUSE*, THE BOYS AT THROWING SHADE PROMISE YOU OODLES AND OODLES OF CLUB TROPICANA...IN THIS CASE, FROM THE BOY WHO CAN DO NO WRONG, L-VIS1990...WHO FROM THE DRUM WORK SOUNDS LIKE HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN NAMED PHINEAS DITSELE!!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

THE SDOTX FLAMBOASTING IN AMSTERDAM WITH THE SONIC BOOM POSSE...BRUTUZZ, GUERILLA SPEAKERZ, OJ SYMSTEM! IT DON'T STOP!! I AM REALLY LOVING AMSTERDAM!SPOEK GETTING MONEY...MALMO GETTIN' MONEY...WE FLASSSHIN'!! FOR ALL YOU HOES THAT DON'T KNOW, IT IS INTERNATIONAL 40 WATERS DAY...A DAY WHERE WE AT THROWING SHADE CELEBRATE THE WITISM AND CHARM THAT IS CHARLIE HUSTLE, MR E-40

**It’s a horrible task. A lot of great artists express their greatness prolifically, but few in the history of popular music have been so consistently brilliant for so long. I always lose mp3s from my hard-drive in meltdowns and extravagant flame-thrower accidents, but even with my sadly incomplete collection I still have over two days (that’s forty eight hours, if any of you are sleeping at the back) worth of Wiley mp3s which I’ve somehow had to pick just ten tracks from. It hasn’t been easy.

It’s not unreasonable to compare Richard Cowie to Bob Dylan or Miles Davis. It’s not like he’s not churned out a lot of shoddy material, like other legends, but his ability to adapt and find new ways of nuancing his skills is astounding. Wiley’s compulsive about music, and compulsively restless in the way he makes it. His plans change like the weather, he’s constantly unavailable, constantly changing his various mobile numbers: famously he’s like the 38 bus, cos he never turns up. He’s had beefs, fall-outs, and hissyfits galore, been stabbed 14 times, retired at least twice, and never released an album without denouncing it at some point, often before it’s been released. But each time you think he’s too bitter or dejected or exhausted to keep on making music (or at least, to keep on making good music), he hibernates as a ‘studio rat’ and comes back with some fresh wonder. He can’t help himself.

The concept of ‘scenius’, that inspiration comes from a collective semi-conscious mentality, is pretty appealing with grime. The grime scene has always had a collectivist, self-supporting attitude, despite mini-beefs, which in any case are usually more lyrical than real. As well as feeding on the communal hive-mind, collaborating constantly, Wiley’s had strong crew affiliations, from his early Pay As U Go days to primacy in Roll Deep, to a more sibling-like relationship with Boy Better Know. On radio, in lyrics, raves and interviews he exults the scene as a whole, and exults grime (“If you hear the name ‘grime’, Nan - I am the meaning”). He seems to feel the Godfather role keenly and has always been determined to bring people through. “If you’ve heard of Rascal watch out for Stryder” he spat back in 2003 – it’s quite poignant that both of these two have now had number 1 singles, something he’s failed to achieve.

Yet despite sitting proudly at the head of the table at grime’s family get-togethers, Wiley is a classic auteur, a one-man torrent of creativity. It’s not even about the Eski branding (sonically, or in the label or club night): just that in a scene of roaming militia, he’s always managed to be a lone gunman. And these ten essential Wiley tunes reflect him in that role – with a heavy heart I haven’t had room for any Pay As U Go or Roll Deep tunes, which is pretty astonishing really given how much good stuff he’s put out in both his garage and grime crew roles.

I’m going to cheat and cut a corner here and throw in bonus links to Wiley on Freeze FM spitting over jungle in 1998, and one of my favourite freestyles, ‘I’m like a 38 Bus Cos I Never Turn Up’. I always say this to people, so it would be remiss for me not to say it here: the best album Wiley’s ever put out was not actually put out by him: it’s free to download, and it’s the Grimetapes compilation of radio clips, Wiley Volume 1. **

THE FUCKIN' BEEEEEEEEEEST *COME TO YOUR ENDS LIKE ACHILESE AND TAKE OUT HECTOR**WILEY A FLOP, YOU MUST BE HAVING A BUBBLE BATH*

Friday, July 10, 2009

A COUPLE WEEKS AGO MARKS AND I HUNG OUT IN A TOWN CLOSE TO BERLIN CALLED BRAUNSWEIG...WHAT WE SAW WE WILL NOT JUMP TO FORGET. BRAUNSCHWEIG IS A SWEET SWEET TOWN, A HIDEAWAY FOR AMAZONIAN FEMMES RIPE FOR TEH PICKING.

EVERYONE IS EITHER MOANING OR GOING GAGA WITH KANYE REFERENCES OFF THIS SONG...

I SAW THE KID PERFORM TWO WEEKS BACK AND WAS INSTANTLY CONVERTED...HE IS TOO FUCKING CHARISMATIC FOR HIS OWN GOOD. PLUS HE SLID ME HIS UPCOMING ALBUM AND BELIEVE IT WHEN I SAY, HE HAS TOO MUCH FLAVOUR OF HIS OWN. WILL HOPEFULY BE ALLOWED TO BLOG HIS BIG ZULU TUNE *BEE* SOON. UNTIL THEN, HERE'S SOMETHING TO SING TO YOUR EX GIRLFRIEND

DJ CLEO'S PROTEGE, DJ WHAT WHAT IS A LOT BIGGER THAN HOUSE MUSIC AND ONLY A BIT SMALLER THAN A GOD. HIS ALBUM *WHAT FOR?* HAS KEPT ME DANCING IN MY SOCKS FOR THE LAST WEEK...I AM NOT EVEN SKIPPING THOSE VOCAL HOUSE TUNES I HATED SO MUCH ON FIRST LISTEN. YOU CAN CATCH ME SINGING *COME TOGETHER* AT THE TOP OF MY VOICE.

DRY ASS BIOGRAPHY FROM WILL OF STEEL WEBSITE: DJ What What hails from Bloemfontein, where, due to his status in the South African DJ scene, he gets accorded superstar status. He studied at the same school in Johannesburg as DJ Cleo, who would later become his mentor, completing a diploma in sound engineering.

Having aced the course, and with time to kill (musicians do not get 8 to 5 type of jobs), DJ What What started messing around with some beats in his home studio, putting into practice what he had learnt in school. It was during this creative process that DJ What What began drawing attention from more established DJs and producers countrywide.

In 2005, DJ What What received a call from his idol, DJ Cleo, who had already released a hit album entitled Eskhaleni and was working on his second project. As luck would have it, DJ What What was offered the privilege, and grabbed it with both hands, of working with DJ Cleo on what was certainly the biggest song of 2005, called ‘Goodbye’, which remains one of the most recognizable tunes in the South African dance scene today.DJ What WhatBut when you want to achieve greater things in life, you need patience, and it was not until 2007 that the young lad form Bloemfontein would see the his hard work and two year long learning process, culminate into his debut album, ‘What If’, which was released in August. The album is progressive, yet easy on the ear, allowing the listener to mellow into it, sampling such songs as “I’m yours’, ‘Feel the DJ’, ‘Bloemfontein’ which he dedicates to his hometown and the massive dance floor filler, ‘Can we try’.

Judging by the ever-increasing number of bookings and accolades coming his way, DJ What What has certainly earned the respect of the industry, is garnering a lot of fans, and is headed to the top.

Talent, determination, hard work and sober habits intact, DJ What What is here to stay for a longest while…**

A KINDA BOOTLEG CASSETE...AND HERE IS KIND OF THE OPPOSITE...A SNIPPET FROM THEIR BIOGRAPHY:

*Mtkidu is a live beat construct and visual manipulation team, comprised of Murray Turpin (M18J92T), Nicholas Nesbitt (Kidu) and Hayley Junkin (chinxxx(VJ). Mtkidu was formed 3 years ago in the pursuit of a sound and visual language that was both relevant, authentic and experimental. For all intents and purposes, we concentrate on the creation and innovation of a new, dynamic sound/vision in South Africa and as the art galleries and clubs stagnate in white and grey cube commercialism, we will not forget the original purpose and potential of these spaces, for invention and exploration…*

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

NEW ANTIPOP CONSORTIUM ALBUM DROPPING SOON. HIGH SCHOOL YEARS CULMINATED IN A SERIOUS NERDY JONESING FOR APC. SINCE THEN I HAD THE SUPREME PLEASURE OF DOING SOME SHOWS WITH THEM AND HANGING OUT WITH SAYYID...AND THE FANDOME ONLY DEEPENS! THEIR RETURN SET AS A GROUP, AT NUIT SONARS IN LYON WAS DUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTY!! VERY CURRENT, NOW TO SEE IF THE ALBUM CAN HOLD IT DOWN

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

CAME ACROSS THIS LIL' CRACKER FROM 2003 BEFORE I KNEW WHAT GRIME WAS...PARANOID SKITTERY DRUMS, POST APOCALYPTIC BASSLINES, LYRIC LYRIC LYRIC STYLE AND PATTERN...I AM HAVING FUN, IMAGINING A WORLD WITHOUT GRIME'S SUBSEQUENT AQUISITION OF THE *WE CANNOT MAKE DECENT ALBUMS* CURSE...BEFORE ALL THE *BIZZLE BIZZLE*. THIS ALBUM HAS ALL THE STELLAR PROTOGRIME, THE GARAGEY BITS (IGNORE THE SOPPY R&B OF *SOLDIER'S FALLEN*)

BEEN IN THE TROPICS. WHO WOULDA THUNK IT. THE NDEBELE IN THE TROPICS RAPPING AND ACTING THE FOOL. REUNION ISLAND WAS TICK! HUNG WITH SIBOT, BEN SHARPA, RAIKO, DPLANET, SPOOKIE, AND THE AFRICAN SOUNDSYSTEM. AFRICANS CAUSED A LOT OF HAVOC.

JOHANNESBURG IS COLD AND SCHITT.

TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL SWEDEN FOR TWO MONTHS! HYPE TING!

this is not a prank call...everybody being a bully...there's a bully in the house